We develop habits in our younger years. When actions results in favorable, outcomes we will repeat that behavior; through frequent repetition and reinforcement, we will become conditioned, like Pavlov’s dogs.

Whether habits are good or bad is a matter of opinion, but there are definitely patterns that are proven to provide more health, happiness and prosperity. Many habits we mistakenly think are making us happy are in fact causing our demise.

Let’s start creating new pathways but first, let’s learn about four habits that are making you unhappy.

1. Overindulging on good things

It’s true that there is too much of a good thing. You might start a healthy habit with good intentions, but those intentions

what makes me unhappy

can soon be replaced with obsessive, dangerous behaviors. Obsessing about your diet or fitness regime can lead to very negative effects. It’s OK if you miss one yoga class! Stop replacing the potential benefits of healthy habits with guilt, anxiety, self hate, and judgement.

Happiness is a balancing act, and that includes balancing the good stuff. As Oscar Wilde once said, “Everything in

moderation, including moderation.”

2. Clinging to relationships

Your values, morals and interests are likely different than what they were 10 years ago. Have you made the appropriate changes to keep up with your shifting values? Are you still trying to be the same person you were when you were 25, hanging out with the same people? Is it possible that your routines are no longer in line with your values?

Does this relationship serve you?

Who you hang out with has a great impact on the person you are and the person you become. For example, if you’ve developed an interest in being healthy, instead of feeling obligated to continue your usual routine of chicken wings and beer at the pub, you could consider joining a running group or a sports team?

If certain relationships are negative or unhealthy, you might want to realign yourself. It’s OK to admit you’ve changed and that a relationship might not be in line with where you are or want to be.

Don’t be afraid to get out and meet new people! Be you and don’t apologize for who you are or for any changes you have made.

3. Resisting change

We fight change like gladiators. But we can’t avoid change, and although we think we’re playing it safe by staying in a dead end job or bad marriage, we aren’t. We need to accept change and the refreshing opportunities it brings.

Some things you can change and other things you simply can not.

For those things that you can not change, choose acceptance, which is relaxing the tension, letting go of the clenched jaw and resting the energy and pull of the mind. Accept the things that are out of your control and change the things that are in your control.

4. Buying things we think will make us happy

Happy people rarely keep clutter around the house because they know that extra belongings weigh them down and make them feel overwhelmed and stressed out.

You might think that the new big screen TV will make you happier. While it might provide an instant rush, the long term stress from debt, clutter and never having enough will create anxiety. When you seek happiness in material possessions, you’ll never be fulfilled, no no matter what you buy it. So start to rewire habits; change your thoughts, change your behaviors, make room for new pathways and open up your mind and life to new possibilities and chances.

There once was a farmer who discovered that he had lost his watch in the barn. It was no ordinary watch because it had sentimental value for him.

After searching high and low among the hay for a long while; he gave up and enlisted the help of a group of children playing outside the barn.

He promised them that the person who found it would be rewarded.

Hearing this, the children hurried inside the barn, went through and around the entire stack of hay but still could not find the watch. Just when the farmer was about to give up looking for his watch, a little boy went up to him and asked to be given another chance.

The farmer looked at him and thought, “Why not? After all, this kid looks sincere enough.”

So the farmer sent the little boy back in the barn. After a while the little boy came out with the watch in his hand! The farmer was both happy and surprised and so he asked the boy how he succeeded where the rest had failed.

The boy replied, “I did nothing but sit on the ground and listen. In the silence, I heard the ticking of the watch and just looked for it in that direction.”

A peaceful mind can think better than a worked up mind. Allow a few minutes of silence to your mind every day, and see, how sharply it helps you to set your life the way you expect it to be!

One day, Buddha was walking from one town to another with a few of his followers.

While they were traveling, they happened to pass by a lake. They stopped to rest there and Buddha asked one of his disciples to get him some water from the lake.

A disciple walked up to the lake. When he reached it, he noticed some people were washing clothes in the water and, right at that moment, a bullock cart started crossing through the lake.

As a result, the water became very muddy. The disciple thought, “How can I give this muddy water to Buddha to drink!”

So he came back and told Buddha, ”The water in the lake is very muddy. I don’t think it is suitable to drink.”

After a while, Buddha again asked the same disciple to go back to the lake and get him some water.

The disciple obediently went back to the lake. This time he found that the mud had settled down and the water was clean so he collected some in a pot and brought it to Buddha.

Buddha looked at the water then looked up at the disciple and said, “See what you did to make the water clean. You let it be and the mud settled down on its own. It is also the same with your mind. When it is disturbed, just let it be. Give it a little time and it will settle down on its own.”

Andy Sachs: I don’t know what else I can do because if I do something right, it’s unacknowledged. She doesn’t even say thank you. But if I do something wrong, she is vicious.

Nigel: So quit.

Andy Sachs: What?

Nigel: Quit.

Andy Sachs: Quit?

Nigel: I can get another girl to take your job in five minutes… one who really wants it.

Andy Sachs: No, I don’t want to quit. That’s not fair. But, I, you know, I’m just saying that I would just like a little credit… for the fact that I’m killing myself trying.

Nigel: Andy, be serious. You are not trying. You are whining. What is it that you want me to say to you, huh? Do you want me to say, "Poor you. Miranda’s picking on you. Poor you. Poor Andy"? Hmm? Wake up, six. She’s just doing her job. Don’t you know that you are working at the place that published some of the greatest artists of the century? Halston, Lagerfeld, de la Renta. And what they did, what they created was greater than art because you live your life in it. Well, not you, obviously, but some people. You think this is just a magazine, hmm? This is not just a magazine. This is a shining beacon of hope for… oh, I don’t know… let’s say a young boy growing up in Rhode Island with six brothers pretending to go to soccer practice when he was really going to sewing class and reading Runway under the covers at night with a flashlight. You have no idea how many legends have walked these halls. And what’s worse, you don’t care. Because this place, where so many people would die to work you only deign to work. And you want to know why she doesn’t kiss you on the forehead and give you a gold star on your homework at the end of the day. Wake up, sweetheart.

Always ask for what you want. Believe in yourself enough to do the asking. Huge worthiness score on this.

Before you ask strategize and use all your resources to make it happen. You will be surprised how many ways you can make your way in…

Believe you should have it. If you don’t believe you should have it, then you should not have it.

Replace “I could never pull this off” with “If anyone could pull this off its me.”

Remember ….you truly have nothing to lose apart from your ego getting hit. But then again big egos are not very liked so it would do you some good if your ego got smaller. Worthiness does not mean having a big ego.

You have been through the unimaginable so you can do the impossible.

One day it will be too late and you will no longer be in a place of asking. Tomorrow won’t do.

Ensō (円相) is a Japanese word meaning “circle” and a concept strongly associated with Zen. Ensō is one of the most common subjects of Japanese calligraphy even though it is a symbol and not a character. It symbolizes absolute enlightenment, strength, elegance, the universe, and the void; it can also symbolize the Japanese aesthetic itself. As an “expression of the moment” it is often considered a form of minimalist expressionist art.

In Zen Buddhist painting, ensō symbolizes a moment when the mind is free to simply let the body/spirit create. The brushed ink of the circle is usually done on silk or rice paper in one movement (Bankei, however, occasionally used two strokes) and there is no possibility of modification: it shows the expressive movement of the spirit at that time. Zen Buddhists “believe that the character of the artist is fully exposed in how she or he draws an ensō. Only a person who is mentally and spiritually complete can draw a true ensō. Some artists will practice drawing an ensō daily, as a kind of spiritual practice.”[1]

Some artists paint ensō with an opening in the circle, while others complete the circle. For the former, the opening may express various ideas, for example that the ensō is not separate, but is part of something greater, or that imperfection is an essential and inherent aspect of existence (see also the idea of broken symmetry). The principle of controlling the balance of composition through asymmetry and irregularity is an important aspect of the Japanese aesthetic: Fukinsei (不均斉), the denial of perfection.

The ensō is also a sacred symbol in the Zen school of Buddhism, and is often used by Zen masters as a form of signature in their religious artwork. For more on the philosophy behind this see Hitsuzendo, the Way of the Brush or Zen Calligraphy.

The ensō has also been co-opted as an advertising symbol by various companies, notably Lucent. No longer used since the Alcatel merger, the logo was often jokingly referred to as the “coffee cup ring”.

The director said, “I have a request. When you go home today, go and clean your mother’s hands, and then see me tomorrow morning.

The youth felt that his chance of landing the job was high. When he went back home, he asked his mother to let him clean her hands. His mother felt strange, happy but with mixed feelings, she showed her hands to her son.

The youth cleaned his mother’s hands slowly. His tear fell as he did that. It was the first time he noticed that his mother’s hands were so wrinkled, and there were so many bruises in her hands. Some bruises were so painful that his mother winced when he touched it.

This was the first time the youth realized that it was this pair of hands that washed the clothes everyday to enable him to pay the school fees. The bruises in the mother’s hands were the price that the mother had to pay for his education, his school activities and his future.

After cleaning his mother hands, the youth quietly washed all the remaining clothes for his mother.

That night, mother and son talked for a very long time.

Next morning, the youth went to the director’s office.

The Director noticed the tears in the youth’s eyes, when he asked: “Can you tell me what have you done and learned yesterday in your house?”

The youth answered,” I cleaned my mother’s hand, and also finished cleaning all the remaining clothes’

“I know now what appreciation is. Without my mother, I would not be who I am today. By helping my mother, only now do I realize how difficult and tough it is to get something done on your own. And I have come to appreciate the importance and value of helping one’s family.

The director said, “This is what I am looking for in a manager. I want to recruit a person who can appreciate the help of others, a person who knows the sufferings of others to get things done, and a person who would not put money as his only goal in life.”

“You are hired.”

This young person worked very hard, and received the respect of his subordinates. Every employee worked diligently and worked as a team. The company’s performance improved tremendously.

A child, who has been protected and habitually given whatever he wanted, would develop an “entitlement mentality” and would always put himself first. He would be ignorant of his parent’s efforts. When he starts work, he assumes that every person must listen to him, and when he becomes a manager, he would never know the sufferings of his employees and would always blame others. For this kind of people, who may be good academically, they may be successful for a while, but eventually they would not feel a sense of achievement. They will grumble and be full of hatred and fight for more. If we are this kind of protective parents, are we really showing love or are we destroying our children instead?

You can let your child live in a big house, eat a good meal, learn piano, watch on a big screen TV. But when you are cutting grass, please let them experience it. After a meal, let them wash their plates and bowls together with their brothers and sisters. It is not because you do not have money to hire a maid, but it is because you want to love them in a right way. You want them to understand, no matter how rich their parents are, one day their hair will grow gray, same as the mother of that young person. The most important thing is your child learns how to appreciate the effort and experience the difficulty and learns the ability to work with others to get things done.

the Venturers, the Vaporists, the Vultures and the Vampires – you will meet all of them if you tread the sacred pilgrimage called entrepreneurship. And after you have survived them all, there will be no one left to fear.

There are said to be six major areas in the cognitive development process that includes: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.

1. Knowledge is remembering previously learned material, from specific facts to complete theories.
2. Comprehension is the ability to grasp the meaning of material.
3. Application is the ability to use learned material in and concrete situations. This may include the application of such things as rules, methods, and concepts.
4. Analysis is defined as the ability to break down a problem into component parts so that its organization is understood.
5. Synthesis is defined as the ability to put parts together to form a new whole view or aspect
6. Evaluation is defined as the ability to judge the value of materials for a given purpose

“The greatest trick the devil ever pulled is to convince the world he doesnt exist. Science is man made and thus flawed. Nothing man made is perfect. But the universe is so intrinsically balanced that to dismiss it as coincidence is just stupid. “The world is flat”, “The atom is the smallest thing”, scientic facts always turned out to be bullshit!”

Except a few chemical engineers around me who atleast seem to understand the enormity of the problem, most people around me seem blissfully ignorant and completely unaware. I even heard about some one saying “Oil can’t ever run out, it gushes out from under the earth.”

History seems all set to reverse itself.

I’m reminded of Gauguin’s words: “In order to do something new we must go back to the source, to humanity in its infancy.”

The human kind surely does not need oil to survive.

Great empires were established without a single drop of oil. Even though Rome was not built in a day, it was built before refineries were built.

In lieu of oil, humans will need to work harder, but that can’t be very bad. For centuries, our forefathers have done that.

But of course, working harder was never an acceptable solution to the human race. What we want is a simple magical energy solution will present itself to the human race so that the laziness can prevail and all can watch TV sitting on fat couches eating chips and drinking cola. It could be a simple wave of Harry Potter’s wand or a wierd gravity defying perpetual motion machine installed and maintained by Mickey Mouse. The solution has to come from somewhere.

People, atleast some of them, need to take up the role of artists to create the ultimate energy solution…and the painter should not paint what he sees, but what will be seen.

Gauguin said : I shut my eyes in order to see

This means that if a painter limits himself to the mundane sight of the world, his ability to create things beyond the mundane sight is lost.

What I learn from this is that for one to arrive at a truly creative solution, one has to stop worrying about the norm. Creative solutions are obtained more easily if the norm is discarded and the mind is free to seek and try means that are new, different or innovated.

I’m going to close my eyes now, so that I can find a solution to the energy crisis. Check this space tomorrow 🙂

There is an interesting provision in the Indian voting system, as per a 1969 act, in section “49-O” of code of conduct of elections.

As per this, a person can go to the polling booth, confirm his identity, get his finger marked and convey the presiding election officer that he doesn’t want to vote for anyone!

Now, why should anybody go to the polling booth and say “I DO NOT WANT TO VOTE FOR ANYBODY”?

Simply because it can make a difference.

“Not voting” and deciding to “not vote for anybody” are two different things as per the constitution.

The decision to “not vote for anybody” prevents your vote from being misused. Also, it can alter the course of an election result even after a candidate has won a majority of votes.

If the number of people using the “49 O” option is greater than the winning candidates vote margin, then the election results would be null and void. Not only that, the candidature of the contestant would be removed and they cannot recontest, since people had already expressed their decision on them.

This way, if >50% people decide to use this option, then this means people do not have faith in any candidate who is contesting the election. The political parties would have to then either propose new candidates for the next elections who are acceptable to public or it may pave a way for new independent candidates.

This would instill some fear inthe political parties who would look for genuine candidates for their parties for election. This could change the way of our whole political system.

Showing your power expressing your desire not to vote for anybody is more powerful than voting , so don’t miss your chance.

So either vote, or vote not to vote (vote 49-O) and you can do your share to improve India’s political system.

Though PI has a reputation of being an irrational number (a number that can’t be expressed as a ratio of two integers), I did a small check to see which vulgar fraction within denominator <1000 comes closest to PI